The resignation of US ambassador to India Nancy Powell isn’t all that surprising. Indian and American officials were expecting a change of guard. The move signifies a possible desire by Washington to push the “refresh” button in relations with India. At the practical level it is hard to see a renewal under a leader who presided over the decline.
Unlike Ms Powell, a career diplomat, a political appointee might be better suited to revive ties at the operational level. Ms Powell is scheduled to leave her position in May. The timing coincides with the new government in India taking charge. Presumably there is a desire in Washington to begin anew.
The test of this will be how the US handles the Khobragade affair from now onwards. A silly US justice department official was permitted by the state department to run amok in the Khobragade case. This speaks of political insensitivity on the part of US foreign policy makers. The US embassy in Delhi, played its part by spiriting away to the US Ms Khobragade’s controversial maid’s husband and child.
That casts a shadow on the ambassador’s tenure. The speculation in India that Ms Powell did not move fast enough to befriend BJP PM candidate Narendra Modi points to a secondary US concern, for the visa policy in controversial cases is laid down in Washington.
